Wild Wâpanacâhk’s Prairie Ride Logbook
Saskatoon → Winnipeg (721 km total)
Saskatoon → Wynyard (174.6 km)
The road began with resolve, derailleur already scarred but still fighting. The prairie air cut cold, and my wool fingerless gloves clung to the bars, stubborn against numbness. Every push east was a promise.
Wynyard → Foam Lake (47.9 km, 222.5 km total)
Short stretch but hunger clawed hard. My fall camo hoodie, heavy with sweat and rain, carried me on. The reflective camo rain gear flashed in the headlights — a bushman ghost glowing on the highway.
Foam Lake → Yorkton (88.9 km, 311.4 km total)
Here the gear began to break. The derailleur FUBARed, the rim crying for rescue. Shifting cords frayed patience. But Yorkton brought a flicker of humanity — a donation, proof that someone still believed in the ride.
Yorkton → Gladstone (270.9 km, 582.3 km total)
The monster stretch. Storms split the prairie sky into lightning strobes. I wore my camo reflective rain gear like a shield, my wool three-finger mitts keeping the blood moving in my hands. At the Co-op Gas Bar in Gladstone, hunger made me snap — but kindness arrived anyway with food pressed into my hands.
Gladstone → Portage la Prairie (55.2 km, 637.6 km total)
The derailleur screamed with every pedal stroke, cords haunted me like old ghosts. My fall camo hoodie was soaked through again, but still I cracked jokes with the thunder. A breath before the last push.
Portage la Prairie → Winnipeg (Cirque J Truck Stop) (83.3 km, 720.9 km total)
Four hours of grinding nonstop. An old man “a day younger than Moses” fixed my rim and kept me rolling. My wool fingerless gloves, my three-finger mitts, my camo hoodie, my neon-striped rain gear — all soaked, battered, worn — carried me through the final stretch into Winnipeg.
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Gear Log
Derailleur: FUBARed early, limped across the prairie screaming.
Back Rim: Repaired by an old hand, patched into survival.
Cordage / shifting cables: Frayed and failing, constant battle.
Camo reflective rain gear: Shield against storms, warning beacon to trucks.
Fall camo hoodie: Sweat-soaked, rain-soaked, diesel-stained, still loyal.
Wool fingerless gloves: Grip without mercy, fingertips raw.
Wool three-finger mitts: Kept blood in the hands when the cold tried to steal it.